


Escape

by TedraKitty



Series: Multifandom Ficlets [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22879792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TedraKitty/pseuds/TedraKitty
Summary: Clint is stuck in medical - again. Escape is the plan, but this new stuff they've got him on is a doozy.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Series: Multifandom Ficlets [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1660549
Comments: 11
Kudos: 87





	Escape

Clint hated medical. He hated the way it looked. He hated the way it smelled. He hated how it reminded him of every time his waste-of-space father put him and his brother in the hospital. He always escaped, every time, the very first second he could. Coulson knew that. Coulson kept a medpac in his office just for Clint. Clint got a little nostalgic when they doped him up, and whatever this stuff was it was good. Not better than Clint, though. He was already plotting his escape. Though maybe he'd take off after a little nap.

While Clint dozed, he dreamt of Coulson. He missed Coulson. He missed the way Phil would take care of him. He didn't bullshit the seriousness of the situation, or sugar coat any of it. When Clint first called him on it, he stared at Clint then said in no uncertain terms "I'm not Willy Wonka, I'm not going to sugar-coat anything." So, they made a deal. If Clint was well enough to dodge the nurses, plus climb through the vents without passing out, again, or dripping blood everywhere, again, Phil wouldn't send him back to medical. He got to lay on Phil's soft couch, without any nasty hospital stench clogging up his memories. 

His favorite part was when Phil was done with the paperwork. He'd come sit next to Clint. They'd always start with proper Agent Coulson, sitting a strictly professional distance away from where Clint sprawled across the sofa. By the end of the day, it was just Clint and Phil. He'd run his fingers through Clint's hair, gently scritching his scalp; feeding Clint's near insatiable need to be seen - to be touched. Or, at least, seen and touched by someone he trusted. He didn't count the marks he casually touched to get them on the hook, or worse, the assholes he punched (or was punched by) on a weekly basis. Those kinds made him want to scrub his skin off. 

Waking up, he listened for the charter of the nurses. They thought they were being quiet, but they really weren't. He was Hawkeye. Fuck them. They came back in to check his vitals - he pretended to be unconscious. Finally satisfied, they left. He made a break for it. As the nurse walked out, he was out of the bed, and in a flash, up into the vents. Medical was well-versed in his antics. They'd be waiting for him in Phil's office. He'd show them; he wouldn't go to Phil's office. He was going home. Home was where he could still smell the cologne he bought Phil last Christmas. Home was where he could wrap himself in Phil's blankets and pretend he was going to walk in any second. Damn. He missed Phil. Just three more turns. He could hold on till then. He'd take the roof exit. No one would be up there. They were all clustered in Phil's office. Like they had a right to be there. He shook his head. Oh. Bad idea. His vision swam. 'Shake it off Barton' he told himself.

Finally. He took a second to listen for anyone talking. He sniffed delicately. Most people forgot about their colognes and perfumes when they were hiding. He didn't know whether to hope for or against catching a whiff of that obnoxious nurse's Axe cologne. Seriously, was he trying to make everyone throw up? He smelled like he bathed in it. Crap. His mind was wandering. If things kept up this way, they'd find him staring off into space like a mindless idiot. Taking the chance he'd outwitted the nurses, he slipped out of the vents. He took the roof exit and shimmied down the fire escape. They had him so doped up on whatever this new cocktail was that they thought would keep him. He almost wasn't sure which way was up by the time he got to the ground. No matter, he knew the way to the safe house. His sense of direction was never wrong. 

Too late to move out of the way he heard the scream of brakes and the driver laying on their horn. Suddenly he was unceremoniously yanked backwards. Yelping at the sudden stranglehold of his stolen hoodie, he went ass over teakettle. Well, at least now he was out of the path of the double decker bus. Dazed, he realized he was sprawling at the feet of none other than The Winter Soldier. He groaned, "I'd better be hallucinating you." Bucky chuckled. "No chance birdboy. Nice job ditching the nurse brigade Steve sicced on you. I think he used the puppy dog eyes. Those are lethal. Good thing Coulson knows you better than he does. He sent me to fetch you home. Let's go."

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt Bus, Medication/Drugs, and Skin Hunger
> 
> [angst_buritto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/angst_buritto/works) gave out a prompt in our [WriterBuddies](https://discord.gg/wXxPh3Y) Discord server.


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